Dolphin 99996403-PC Dolphin Nautilus Plus Robotic Pool Cleaner Review

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The Dolphin Nautilus Plus Robotic Pool Cleaner is an advanced, easy-to-use robotic pool cleaner that is designed to scrub, vacuum and filter in-ground residential pools of up to 50 ft. in length.

Maytronics has launched two versions of this particular robotic pool cleaner – The Dolphin Nautilus and the Dolphin Nautilus Plus. Both models have almost similar features with just a few differences between the two. The main point of difference lies in the cycle time. The Nautilus Plus has a shorter cycle time of 2.5 hours as compared to 3 hours of the Nautilus.

Note: This review is for the Dolphin Nautilus Plus. For the standard Nautilus model, please see this review.

Features At A Glance • Weighs 18.75 lbs • Comes with a 60 feet long cable • Swivel-device keeps the electric cable tangle-free • Plug-and-play operation – no installation required • Cleans in-ground pools of any shape and up to a length of 50 ft • Capable of cleaning most pool surfaces • Cleans pool floor, cove and walls up to the water line • Suction rate is 4,233 gal (USA) per hour • Easy to clean cartridge filter • Self-programmed for optimal pool scanning • Does not need to be connected to the pool pump filter system or a booster pump • Traps dirt and debris using cartridge filters • Brush system helps scrub the pool surface to hamper the growth of algae and bacteria.

Operation The Nautilus line is powered by IntelliScan technology. When the cleaner is submerged in water, the technology does a quick analysis of your pool’s overall dimensions as well as its filter requirements in order to clean it as efficiently as possible. It has a suction rate of 4,233 gallons an hour, which allows it to clean a 50 feet long pool in about 3 hours or less.

This Dolphin cleaner works on its own internal pump system and filter. It does not need the pool pump and pool filter to work.

This pool cleaner is designed to clean the walls right up to the waterline. It propels itself up the wall with its nose in the air cleaning the walls up till the waterline and then goes back down to the floor surface. However, while it is able to climb up the sides quite easily when the pool floor and walls come together in a gentler curved angle, it does struggle if there is a sharp angle where the floor and wall meet.

The cleaner will also struggle to climb the walls if the filter is dirty.

The Nautilus does not have a quick-drain system and can be quite heavy to take out of the water after it has finished its cleaning cycle. The dirt collected in the filters adds to the overall weight. Unlike many other pool cleaners, you cannot use the cord to pull it out of the pool. To take it out of the pool, pull the power cord gently towards you. When it is close to the surface, you have to reach down, grab the handgrips on both sides and life it out of the water. Not everyone can do this easily so it is something that you need to keep in mind.

Advanced filtration – It does not use filter bags. Instead it has two distinct cartridges to separate coarse and fine debris, which ensures thorough filtration. The coarse filtration cartridge has a mesh screen that filters out larger sized particles while the fine filtration cartridge uses a pleated polyester filter to keep out smaller sized dust and debris.

Easy to clean filters – The filter cartridges are quick and easy to remove, rinse and replace.

Long, tangle-free cord – The 60 foot power cable allows you to ‘plug and play’ even if you have a larger-sized pool. The swivel device prevents the cable from twisting and coiling, which can be a huge relief, especially with longer cables such as this.

Uses Easy-Fix modular technology – This means all add-ons and replacements are standardized so they are easy to find and easy to install too. You can do most repairs and replacements yourself without the need to call in a professional.

Pros • Tangle-free 60-foot cable • Advanced filtration system • Cleans the pool silently • Filters are easy to remove, clean and replace • Capable of climbing up and cleaning the walls up to the water line • Replacements are standardized and easily available

Cons • Can be a little cumbersome to remove from the pool because of the heavier weight of the water and debris • Cannot clean the walls of pools that have sharp floor-wall angles • Larger-sized leaves sometimes get stuck in the vacuum intakes and cause an obstruction • You have to buy a caddy separately to move it around

Most users are happy with their purchase. Some of the features that the majority of users are particularly pleased about are the longer cable length, tangle-free cable, silent operation and easily accessible filters. The one thing most users struggle with is removing this pool cleaner out of the water. Without a quick-drain system, the device still contains a substantial amount of water while removing it out the pool, which adds to its total weight. It requires a fair amount of strength to get it out of the water.

Is it for you? The Dolphin Nautilus pool cleaner is a great choice for anyone who does not mind paying a slightly higher price for a robotic pool cleaner with advanced technology. The silent operation means you can hang around the poolside and relax while the Nautilus gets it all cleaned out for you to use and with its 60 foot cable you won’t even need to change plug points for it to clean the whole pool. It does a great job of scrubbing, vacuuming and cleaning the walls and floor so once the device completes its cycle you can just dive in without worrying about whether or not the pool is clean enough.

A note of caution though – you may only want to consider the Dolphin Nautilus if your pool has a gradual curve where the walls meet the floor surface as its functioning is severely restricted if the pool floor and walls meet at sharp angles.

Hi. Excuse the delay in replying. I typed a response days ago but for some reason it didn’t appear, so here goes a second time… You don’t have to buy a caddy if you are happy to carry it to and from the pool. It’s just that the cleaner weighs 22 pounds which is quite a lot of weight – equivalent to 10 bags of sugar. Another option is to buy a little cart and wheel it around on one of those.

Awesome review, dude. I was going crazy reading positive and negative reviews on Amazon but yours sold it to me. Great advice! It scrubs the pool to a much higher standard than I ever got with our previous pool vacuum and using brushes. I waited for 3 months before writing this review to be sure it didn’t have any faults, and so far I’m totally impressed. It is quite expensive up front cost, but I’ve been able to cancel the services of our pool guy because the Nautilus Plus does all the heavy lifting.

You can see where the pool cleaner has been. It’s like when you vacuum over a dirty carpet and you see the difference in color afterwards. Our pool hasn’t looked this clean since we had it installed 7 years ago. A very good investment.

I should have purchased this years ago. It cleaned my pool from top to bottom in a couple of hours. We have an L-shaped pool and it copes OK with that. My gripe would be it doesn’t do that good a job on the steps.

Really happy with our Dolphin. It’s not cheap, but you get what you pay for. The cleaning quality is good and the Nautilus Plus is super fast. Much more efficient than our Kreepy Krauly. It’s quite heavy to haul out the pool I guess is the only downside.